New faculty members who have joined the Department of Computer Science in 2026.
From left to right: Bahar Aameri, Uma Girish, Thomas Ristenpart, Harry Sha and Ohad Shamir.
From computer science education to AI theory, quantum computing, security and theoretical computer science, get to know five faculty members who joined the Department of Computer Science in 2026.
Bahar Aameri
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
Joined July 1, 2026
Bahar Aameri joined the Department of Computer Science as an assistant professor, teaching stream in July 2026. Her work combines teaching, outreach and research, with a strong commitment to inclusive education. Aameri received her PhD in computer science from the University of Toronto in March 2016. Most recently she was an Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream (Contractually Limited Term Appointment) in the department from January 2024 to June 2026.
Aameri co-directs the PRISM program, which prepares students — particularly those from marginalized communities — for higher education in computer science. Aameri’s teaching spans courses from first-year computer science through graduate-level artificial intelligence. Her research focuses on logic-based approaches to AI and ontology design, exploring how formal methods can help build robust and trustworthy intelligent systems. Previously, Aameri was a postdoctoral fellow in the Semantic Technologies Lab, where she worked on projects funded by RBC and Autodesk.
Assistant Professor
Joined July 1, 2026
Uma Girish joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto as an assistant professor in July 2026. Her research interests are in quantum algorithms, information and complexity theory and its connections to Boolean function analysis and cryptography. Previously, she was a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University. Girish obtained her PhD at Princeton University. She received her BSc and MSc from Chennai Mathematical Institute.
Professor
Joined July 1, 2026
Thomas Ristenpart joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto as a professor in July 2026. His research is in computer security, with recent topics including interpersonal technology abuse, applied and theoretical cryptography, and authentication. Ristenpart is part of a research team working on computer security and privacy issues in the context of interpersonal violence which led to him and his colleagues co-founding the Clinic to End Tech Abuse.
Harry Sha
Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream
Joined July 1, 2026
Harry Sha joined the Department of Computer Science as an assistant professor, teaching stream in July 2026. He is interested in theoretical CS, especially complexity theory and coding theory. Sha received his PhD in computer science from the University of Toronto in June 2026 and completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Stanford University.
Professor
Joined August 1, 2026
Ohad Shamir joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Toronto as a professor in August 2026. He is also a Canada CIFAR AI Chair at the Vector Institute. Shamir’s research focuses on theoretical aspects of machine learning, in areas such as theory of deep learning, the intersection of machine learning and optimization and learning with information and communication constraints. Shamir completed his PhD in 2010 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.